Operation regimes, gain dynamics and highly stable operation points of Ho:YLF regenerative amplifiers

TL;DR

This paper provides a detailed analysis of Ho:YLF regenerative amplifiers, identifying stable operation points and gain dynamics, leading to highly stable laser pulses with minimal fluctuations, applicable to similar laser systems.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive study of operation regimes and gain dynamics in Ho:YLF RAs, highlighting stable operation points with minimal pulse fluctuations, both numerically and experimentally.

Findings

Achieved highly stable output pulses with 0.19% fluctuation.

Identified operation regimes based on pulse energy and stability.

Demonstrated gain dynamics related to stable operation points.

Abstract

We present a comprehensive study of laser pulse amplification with respect to operation regimes, gain dynamics, and highly stable operation points of Ho:YLF regenerative amplifiers (RAs). The findings are expected to be more generic than for this specific case. Operation regimes are distinguished with respect to pulse energy and the appearance of pulse instability, and are studied as a function of the repetition rate, seed energy, and pump intensity. The corresponding gain dynamics are presented, identifying highly stable operation points related to high gain build -up during pumping and high gain depletion during pulse amplification. These operation points are studied numerically and experimentally as a function of several parameters, thereby achieving, for our Ho:YLF RA, highly stable output pulses with measured fluctuations of only 0.19% (standard deviation).